"Take me to church, Charlie. You were the only place I ever worshipped," he said, as he dipped his face toward me, brushing his lips against mine. His hands reached up and skimmed my cheeks, trailing down my face and neck, touching me like I was a long lost treasure. The soft touch was almost unbearable, a small whisper of a touch that moved over my skin—his eyes still fixed on mine.
"Can I kiss you?" he asked with a deep whisper.
I gasped out a sob as I nodded my head, too afraid to speak for fear my words would tangle with tears. The feeling in my chest was overwhelming.
Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his lips to mine. I could hardly breathe. My chest tightened, heart beating fiercely against my rib cage.
He stilled, just over my lips, and breathed me in. Anticipation and need wrestled between us. His chest moved faster, a quick rise and fall as he still kept his eyes fixed steadily on mine. He was making sure. He was making sure I saw only him, making sure I was okay.
And I was.
All I saw was him.
And then, his lips brushed softly over mine, and I melted into him.
"Amen," he whispered against my lips. "Charlie...been all over the world, seen so many places, but I swear my favorite place is against your lips."
A wild, breathless gasp escaped my lips as his hands pressed down around my face and his mouth crushed against mine. My hands flew up to his chest, fisting into his shirt, pulling him closer, greedily grasping, unable to get enough. There was so much sensation from such a simple kiss. It was staggering, disorienting. I hadn’t been kissed like that since the last time his lips were on mine. Whatever anybody else had offered me with their kisses was nothing more than a shadow of feeling compared to Jase’s.
Our lips moved hot and wet over one another's, his tongue dipping into my mouth, shooting fire across my chest.
His hands traveled up, threading his fingers through my hair and he broke away from our kiss. His hands fisted my strands of hair and pulled back until my face tilted up and our eyes were back to being fixed on each other. His warm breath blew across my cheeks; the rise and fall of his chest was wild as he gripped my hair in his fists. Sky blue eyes darted back and forth between my eyes and my mouth, and his jaw clenched tightly. I felt his chest shudder and inhale deeply against mine.
"Here’s the twist to your story, Charlie. You ready for it?" he growled and nipped at my lower lip. "Breathe me in deep. Hold your breath. I will make you fall in love with me again. Because I sure as shit didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and I sure as shit didn’t think I could fall in love with you again, but I did." His hands gripped me tighter. "Like I was falling from a cliff, Charlie. Then...then…I realized when I hit the ground; I’ve been in love with you this whole time. It never stopped. I’ll never stop. I will never stop, and I will never give up on you." His voice lowered, “It was you from the beginning, the minute you taped that skull and crossbones to your window wearing those baggy jeans, that Nirvana T-shirt, and those God-awful chucks, you were my horizon. Everything I could ever see."
The tone of his breathless words coiled heat through my belly. My heart went wild. God, I never thought I'd hear those words from him.
"Too much? Too soon?" he shrugged and smirked.
I shook my head. A few tears escaped down my cheeks. His fingers were quick to wipe them away.
"Way I see it, it's not about the time we spent away from each other. And it's not about the time that we have left. It's about the moments—the moments that we shared. Every moment with you was an adventure, Charlie. Every one. You are my moments. And I'm not spending any more without you."
I opened my mouth to speak but it got drowned away with a kiss–slow and languid, causing the slow burn in the center of my chest to ignite into an inferno.
"The rest of your moments belong to me,” he whispered between my lips. "From now on, we go through everything side-by-side. Together, like we were always supposed to." He tilted his lips away and held his right hand up to mine, threading our fingers together. The two broken halves of our tattooed hearts became one. "You have the other half of my heart. Can't live without it anymore."
I smiled back, and I swore my cheeks hurt. It was the first genuine smile I think I had in the last seven years.
"I like the ending of this story," I whispered. "But...there are a few pages left, and I'm hoping there's a heavy sex scene before I hit the end."
"Missed you so much, Charlie." His voice was soft, yet heady and gravelly. He slid his hands slowly up my arms and cupped the back of my neck, pressing his lips back against mine. A throaty growl tore past his lips as his tongue dipped past mine. Bursts of soft, sweet sensations filled my mouth. The taste of him, the feel, made me delirious.
I closed my eyes, letting the heavy drugging feeling of his lips pull me under. My hands pressed against his chest and his heart thundered beneath my fingertips.
My lips slid across his, our tongues slipping and dancing slowly, making me remember how he used to move deep inside my body. My God, I wanted him inside my body again.
His hands slid down my back and wrapped around my waist, pulling me in closer. He broke off the kiss with labored breathing and murmured, "Can I touch you?"
"God, yes.” My voice sounded raspy and breathless. An explosion of flames erupted low in my belly.
Please touch me.
Lowering his hands, he tugged at the hem of the shirt that had fallen off my shoulders. It fluttered down my arms and pooled into a wrinkled lump around my feet.
"So beautiful," he murmured, sliding his hands slowly up my sides. His fingers grasped softy at my skin, a touch that I fought years against remembering. The moment his fingertips met my bare skin, I sank into him, and all my emotions bubbled to the surface in tears from the perfect beauty of how it felt. Goose bumps spread like wildfire over my skin. My flesh only felt alive where his fingertips touched down; the rest of my body was just shadows and memories of us.
But God, his kisses were better than I'd ever remembered.
Then suddenly, his lips were gone, and he was sinking to his knees in front of me. His hands slid like silk over my breasts, across my hips, and around to the small of my back, drawing my body closer. I grabbed at his dark hair as he nipped and licked his way across the expanse of my breasts.
I choked back a gasp when his mouth closed over a nipple and sucked hard. A surge of warmth flushed down the center of my body and throbbed hard against the apex of my thighs.
His hands pressed at my back and finally, dropped to my hips, hooking his thumbs into the sides of my panties and twisting them tightly.
I moaned and tugged at his hair as his hot mouth and tongue made their way over my belly. The anticipation of feeling him inside me again was unbearable. I never wanted anyone, never needed anything so much in my life. My body ached for him.
Coarse, hot fingers slid across my hipbones.
My eyes were locked on his movements. I couldn't stop watching it; the way he worshipped my skin, teased my body.
His blue eyes shot up to mine as he looped his fingers into the middle of my undies and slowly dragged them across my wet flesh. Immediately, my knees bent, buckled, and I was melting, slowly spreading my thighs to him.
Begging to be touched.
Begging to be filled with him.
"Can I taste you?" he whispered, nudging his lips against the front of my underwear. The heat of his mouth made my clit throb wildly, and I gasped, arching forward.
He bit at the material, scraping softly against my skin, and the need to press myself against his mouth was maddening. But he's asking permission. He's asking permission for everything. Every beautiful step he took, he wanted me to be sure.
And still, his fingers brushed over and over my flesh. He sucked at the front of the material, latching onto my clit and tightening his lips over me. The sensation was exquisite, the slow, hot pulls of his lips over the fabric and gentle long strokes of his fingers. My hands clutched onto the counter; dishes
and silverware clattered behind me.
He pulled his mouth away and I moaned from the loss of pleasure. Raking his teeth over his bottom lip, he smiled up at me. "The smell of your skin is sinful, Charlie." And then my panties were being tugged down my thighs, past my knees and calves, in agonizingly, slow pulls. Spikes of heat tingled all over my body as I stared down at the man kneeling in front of my naked body. My breathing faltered. My lungs couldn't get in enough air.
His eyes filled with emotion as he dragged them slowly up and down my body, taking me all in. "Damn, Charlie. You're...you're perfect. So beautiful." His hands dug into my thighs and tightened their grip on me. Jase softly kissed the tops of my thighs, and then pressed his mouth between my legs.
"Oh, sweet Jesus," I cried.
His hands gripped me tighter as his tongue explored, licking wildly against me. I swore he trailed it along every inch of me, leaving nothing out of bounds. Tension twisted and built, pressure pounded against my insides and tore down my legs. My knees buckled, and I tumbled to the floor with him.
"You're making my knees weak, Jase."
He crawled over my body, chuckling. "Mmm-hmm. Can't wait to watch you come apart for me." He scooped me into his arms. Suddenly, I was airborne, and he was carrying me through his apartment and into his bedroom.
His lips attacked mine as he walked. My fingers raked through his hair, pulling and yanking. I could taste myself on his mouth and it drove me insane. We fell onto the bed together, his body landing over mine, and I automatically wrapped my legs around him. With his tongue still dipping into my mouth, his hands pawed and pressed at my flesh. Fingertips pressed down and dug their way over my arms, my waist, my legs, until both of his hands were cupping my bottom, grasping at my skin. His mouth continued to slide over mine, his chest panting hard against mine, his heavy weight pushing me into the mattress. His fingers slid along the crease of my bottom, moving it upward in slow lazy circles. "So wet," he mumbled between kisses. "Need you."
Then, his movements stilled. His forehead dropped against mine and his eyes looked into mine. His breaths were heavy; his heart crashing against my chest. "Need you, Charlie."
He was asking if he could.
His blue eyes pleaded, begging for it to be okay. It’d been so long, so very long since someone looked at me like that—so long since someone touched me the way he did. The intensity of it all brought tears to my eyes.
"Yes, God yes, Jase. Please, don't stop," I whispered. "Don't ever stop, Jase. I want this. I want you."
He backed away slowly, reluctantly pulling himself from my body, and leaned back, sinking his knees into the mattress. Gathering the material at the hem of his shirt, he lifted it above his head and tossed it off to the side.
Oh, my God.
My name was written besides Joey's across his chest, splashed in thick, dark ink across hard, twisted, tight muscles. His body was ripped. Tight. Flexed. Ready to pounce.
My mouth hung open. I heard myself gasp and my cheeks heated. He was stunning. Ten times broader and stronger than the last time I'd seen him shirtless. He was all man. Fire ignited deep inside me, the sweet sensation of its heat mushroomed throughout my body.
Somewhere in the background of the apartment, the song played again. I had it on loop while I was cooking. It intensified the way he looked at me. The sound of the singer's slow, deep voice was sexy and desperate. What was it about the song that made the moment feel so sublime? As if we had our own soundtrack to our story? Or maybe it wasn't the music at all. Maybe it was just the way Jase stared down at me while the music played. It was as if all my senses were heightened, just because those blue eyes were watching me. Every sound, every touch, everything was just more. He looked at me as if I were something precious and I realized at that moment that Jase had always looked at me like that.
Standing up, his fingers tugged slowly at the buttons of his pants. Then in one smooth movement, he slid them down. Jase was gloriously naked in front of me, and I was practically breathless, panting desperately with need and want.
For a brief moment I froze, utterly paralyzed, watching the impossible beauty of the man standing in front of me as he stared back down toward me with a look of the most untouchable emotion I swore I'd never know again. His gaze locked on mine and it burned through me. I was lost, deeply and completely.
Crawling onto the edge of the bed, his hand skimmed over my ankles, slowly up to my knees. My skin awakened and screamed for more.
He lowered and gently ran his tongue up my calf. A low moan escaped my lips, making me clench my fists at the blankets beneath me. He continued the slow assault up my flesh and I got lost in the sensations of his tongue and lips–his fingers and skin.
Then a sharp thrill coiled deep inside me as both of his hands pushed at my inner thighs, spreading me wide open before his eyes. Cool air touched and tingled along my skin with the heat of his breath. I fisted the sheets tighter in my hands; the anticipation of his touch made me want to push myself into his mouth.
Delicately, he slid one finger over me, stroking me; everywhere he touched made me gasp out a small, low moan. I lifted myself onto my elbows to watch. God, he was sexy. Blue eyes stared up at me, his face between my legs, breathing his heat against me. His hands pressed my thighs wider and I wiggled and squirmed in want. He dug his fingertips into the tops of my legs and pulled me into him.
Then his mouth was on me, licking and sucking. I arched toward him and moaned loudly as his tongue stroked and nipped.
"You taste sinful," he growled, voice thick and hoarse, full of desire.
"Oh, God...yes," I whimpered, rolling my hips to match the exquisite motions of his mouth. Every hot, wet, thrust of his tongue deep inside me sent me closer to the edge.
Then, his fingers joined in pushing deep inside me, and pleasure coiled and twisted wherever he touched. My stomach muscles clenched; my breathing accelerated until my lungs burned. Wet heat gushed through my core, meeting his mouth, and a hum of delicious sounds fell past his lips.
His fingers stroked and curled again and again as his tongue lashed and sucked on my clit. The sensation was torturous. Each touch was promising to send me closer and closer to the edge. The sweet rhythm of his wet mouth had me soaring higher and higher. I felt as if I were a small spark ready to explode, burning everything around me.
Abruptly, his movements stopped, and I was left aching and clenching.
He pulled his face up, his breathing ragged and panting. His wicked eyes traveled up the rest of my body as he slowly began teasing and kissing the sides of my inner thighs, moving his way up toward my belly.
"Oh, my God, Jase. I think you're trying to kill me."
A small chuckle rumbled through his chest as he crawled up my body until his mouth latched onto my nipple, sucking and pulling at it so hard I could feel the tightening pull deep in my belly.
I needed him then. I couldn't wait any longer.
I wanted him to stop. The sensations were too much. I needed him inside me, filling me.
I pushed up to sit; his mouth lifted, meeting mine. Our tongues twirled and slid against each other.
One hand cupped my face as both of mine ran over the hard muscles of his chest. As I did, I could distinctly feel the hard, strong beating of his heart, pounding against his chest.
I inched closer, wanting to feel my chest against his.
Then, everything stilled.
We both stopped, eyes locking.
I could feel him. The heavy heat of him—right at my opening.
The way his eyes were fixed on me, the way his lips parted and his breathing came out gasping; I knew he could feel it too.
He was right there, almost inside me, skin to skin.
We both looked down between us. His fist was wrapped around his length, exactly where it needed to be, exactly where I wanted it to be.
My body trembled with want; the feeling of him laying against my entrance was maddening. I heard him gasp, watched him squeeze tighter aroun
d his shaft. I looked back into his eyes. His expression was heady, desperate; he had no control. Finally, I felt the smallest rock of his hips against me.
I matched his gasp.
"Please..." I begged. My voice shook and cracked, "Oh, my God, Jase...please."
The hand cupping my face slid around my neck and twisted a fist into my hair. My eyes met back with his.
Then, the feeling of hot pre cum slid over my clit, making it pulse and throb.
I could have come with just that sensation alone. Tingles and tiny sparks of something danced deep inside me.
I wanted to move, but his hand dropped to my hip and held me still. My body shuddered with need, aching and pulsing.
He gripped my hip tighter, but I rocked into him, sliding the head of his cock over my wet skin.
"Fuck, Charlie. You feel...so good. I need...I need..."
His hands clamped down over my hips, and without either of us being able to speak, I slid down over his length, stretching over him. His gasps and moans were the most beautiful sounds I'd ever heard.
He tightened his grip on me, digging his fingers into my skin. And then he was pushing and plunging into me. Long, slow, hard strokes. My head dropped back and his mouth latched onto my neck.
"Feel so good, baby." His voice rumbled as he pushed my body back into his mattress and buried himself deep inside me.
Our lips met again, and a deep pleasure began building slowly, intensely. A rush of pure, unadulterated pleasure bubbled low as the sensations tightened and climbed.
The orgasm hit me so fast and hard that I cried out his name as my body shook and clenched around him. He rode wave after wave, thrusting through it, spilling his own release with a sudden shudder.
We laid there, him still inside me, until our breathing slowed, both staring into each other's eyes.
His fingers traced slowly over my skin. "I'll never let you go again, Charlie." His lips touched down against the tip of my collarbone. "Can't get enough of you."